Been looking at old photos of some super deep split positions, with the front shin way past vertical. I'm assuming these are split snatches, but it got me thinking... is there any advantage to splitting that low in the jerk?

I played with it some and found I was able to get lower, and it seemed faster. My front foot had less distance to travel. Recovery was harder to push up out of such a deep position with the front leg, but not awful.

Been looking at old photos of some super deep split positions, with the front shin way past vertical. I'm assuming these are split snatches, but it got me thinking... is there any advantage to splitting that low in the jerk?

I played with it some and found I was able to get lower, and it seemed faster. My front foot had less distance to travel. Recovery was harder to push up out of such a deep position with the front leg, but not awful.

Wondering if anybody has some pros and cons on this one.

Splitting low means you didn't have enough room to split higher, you couldn't get the weight any higher. That is what I was taught anyway. The only advantage I can see at being that low is the difference between a successful lift and a failed lift. If you are able to even get that low...I'm decent at splitting and I doubt I could get as low as the old pros.

try doing a heayy lunge and allowing your knee to move forward over your toe... then do the same lunge never allowing your shin to move forward of vertical. The latter will be far stronger and easier to recover from.

Part of the split jerk is being able to stabilize in that receiving position, part of which is preventing yourself from sliding forward in the split. With the shin vertical this is easy - it's a strong position. Once the shin passes forward of vertical, you very quickly lose that ability to push back off that foot.